Since you can buy a saturated Picric acid solution and I have for years why are you worried? It is stable in a saturated liquid and you can purchase fairly small amounts at a time. I only worry if find some in a powder form turning a nasty colour. It has been about twenty five years since I had that happen and immediately went to pre-mixed solutions.
Pam Marcum UAMS -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Sherwood, Margaret Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 8:04 AM To: Mia Woodruff; histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: RE: [Histonet] Sirius red stain - picric acid substitute - water -really? I would do a trial run on "extra" slides or non-valuable tissue? -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Mia Woodruff Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 10:33 PM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] Sirius red stain - picric acid substitute - water -really? Hello all, I have been undertaking sirius red staining using picric acid, I was under the impression (from papers) that picric acid is an important component of the procedure and read that it prevents non-specific binding of the dye to things other than collagen. However, I have recently found a paper which suggests I can simply use water instead of picric acid, seems quite a long shot but I wondered if anyone has experience with the water technique- given that picric acid is pretty dangerous I would be keen to move away from using it but only if scientifically sound to do so. I don't want to jeopardize my results but if this method works then it's a far safer and cheaper safer approach. Any advice? Paper: A specific quantitative assay for collagen synthesis by cells seeded in collagen-based biomaterials using sirius red F3B precipitation LEE D.A.; ASSOKU E.; DOYLE V. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine<http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/jmsm>, Volume 9, Number 1, 1998 , pp. 47-51(5) Many thanks Mia _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-mail contains patient information, please contact the Partners Compliance HelpLine at http://www.partners.org/complianceline . If the e-mail was sent to you in error but does not contain patient information, please contact the sender and properly dispose of the e-mail. _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.. _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet